Section 7

The IPC uses many terms repeatedly (like 'dishonestly', 'fraudulently', 'voluntarily', 'document') and defines some of them precisely through Explanations attached to specific sections. Without a rule like Section 7, there could be confusion about whether these defined meanings apply only locally or throughout the Code. Section 7 was included by the drafters (the Macaulay Commission) to ensure consistency of language across a very large, codified statute, so that courts and citizens do not have to guess whether a defined term changes meaning from section to section.

Indian courts have consistently treated Section 7 as a straightforward rule of statutory construction: once a term is defined via an Explanation in the IPC, that definition is read into every other section using the same term, unless the context makes such a reading impossible. Courts have relied on this section, for example, when interpreting terms like 'dishonestly' (defined under Section 24) or 'document' (defined under Section 29) in offences located elsewhere in the Code.

• Myth: Section 7 creates new definitions for words.
  Fact: It does not define anything itself; it only says that definitions/Explanations given elsewhere in the Code must be applied consistently throughout the Code.
• Myth: Section 7 applies to words explained in other laws too.
  Fact: It applies only to expressions explained within the Indian Penal Code itself, not to definitions found in other statutes.